Thoughts on China

It is surreal sometimes being in Shanghai. Its obviously China but right now I'm sipping a Starbucks latte, eating a french pastry (NOT on the diet plan) and watching Nacho Libre on T.V. So for your viewing pleasure here are a few more observations I've made on this trip...

Trip Stats:
Airline: United- Certainly not the best business class I've flown. So far the airline rankings are 1- Singapore Air 2- Lufthansa (good movies!) 3- NW Airlines (better chairs, movies just ok) and last... United (the worst chairs and movie selection). Am I becoming an airline snob? Maybe.
Hotel: Portman Ritz Carlton- I cannot sing the praises enough for this hotel. They pick you up in a beautiful Audi from the airport, then when you arrive they are waiting for you (know your name) and take you straight up to your room. The bed is amazing, the bathroom is a dream bathroom, and the gym is very nice. Staying here is not a chore.
Movies Watched: Harry Poole is Here, Wall-E
Books Read: Eat, Pray, Love

Observations:

1. On the top deck of the plane where my seat was you can see into the pilot's cockpit occasionally. There were at least 4-5 guys manning the plane. I'm guessing they were pilots, co-pilots and navigators. Probably due to the long flight they have to do shifts. If they want to go to the bathroom the stewardess has to go close a security gate of sorts (which I have to say didn't look too difficult to figure out how to break through) and then the pilots can come out of their secure zone and go potty. Seriously... How annoying. They should just put a bathroom in the pilot's area. But I've got to say I watched this whole process as closely as I watched my in flight movies. Fascinating!
2. I saw a swastika symbol on a buddha in a documentary. Strange... I did some reading and apparently its a common symbol in Buddhism and Hinduism which the Nazi's basically twisted and turned into their symbol.
3. Cheesy American Muzak is played in the Immigration hall of the Shanghai airport. Are we all supposed to like this stuff?
4. My business class seat reminds me a lot of the hover chairs in Wall-E... I hope I'm not that fat and lazy looking, but I do like the reclining chairs.
5. It is best not to watch the driver while taking a car here. I find ignorance is bliss and I somehow still arrive at my destination. I did notice that flashing your lights at the other cars means any of the following: "Hey you, I'm coming your way", "Hey get out of my way" or "You @$#^*&*!!!!".
6. Soup with chicken feet is surprisingly tasty. Just try not to focus on the foot in your bowl. I was told that new mothers eat this soup because its full of nutrients.
7. You can buy a decongestant here (with some help from the pharmacy tech) but then you won't be able to read the box. Hope there's nothing important on that box I need to know about.
8. A pair of Levi's here costs $1400 RMB that's about $200 USD! Yet there are a billion high end stores here. Who can afford this stuff? Its honestly cheaper to have your clothes tailor made from scratch than to buy a name brand item that was probably still manufactured in China.
9. They sing the Happy Birthday song in English... really! I was at a big birthday celebration for the staff and everyone spoke Chinese all over but as soon as it was time to sing there was the traditional birthday cake and song. I asked why and I was told it was translated to Chinese but everyone just sings it in English. Mostly this has become a trend for the younger generations in the past 20 years, the Chinese wouldn't have traditionally done birthdays like this unless it was a birthday ending in a big number like 9 (39, 49, 69 etc...).
10. Again I'm surprised that there is no issue with picking your nose or hocking a big loogie in a meeting.